How to Remove Water From a Crawl Space

News

Water in a crawl space is not good. Damp conditions under a house can lead to swelling of timbers, rot, termites, fungus and a number of other problems. Water in a crawl space is usually the result of flooding, or broken water or sewer pipes.

Things You Will Need

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  • Wet/Dry Shop Vac
  • Immersible sump-pump
  • Fans
  • Space heater

Removal of the water depends in part on how far the majority of the water is from a crawl space, and the amount of water. These steps will guide you through the removal process.

  • Start with a Wet/Dry Shop Vac. It may be necessary to dump the water from the Shop Vac frequently, but an easily-portable Shop Vac is probably your fastest and easiest way to drying out the underside of your home.

  • Buy or rent am immersible water pump with a long drainage hose. This may be your best bet if your problem is severe. Make certain that all filters are in place to remove as much dirt and debris from the pump's inlet as possible. Immerse the pump into the water. Once the pump is in place, plug it in and switch it on. Make sure that the end of the hose carrying the pumped-out water is sufficiently far removed from your home, so that the water is not draining back under your house.

  • Using a combination of the Wet/Dry Shop Vac and the immersible pump, you should be able to remove the vast majority of the water from under your house. Expect to crawl under your hose to complete the job. Dress appropriately as you will get very dirty.

  • Set space heaters with fans under the house to dry out the crawl space. Let the heaters and fans run for at least 24 hours. Check for dryness.

    • Tip

    Use care with electrical cords around water. Do not immerse electrical plugs unless they have been specially designed for underwater applications.

    Warning

    Wear a breathing mask if the water has been standing for two days or longer.

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